Nostalgia for December

For me, December is a time of longing and affection, a time to remember the shimmering sunlight reflecting on the dark brown tiled roofs, illuminating the veranda filled with the sounds of laughter. I remember the cornfields with their plump, golden ears of corn. The rows of cabbage my mother planted on the dike slopes have already sprouted, waiting to burst into golden blossoms by the river. I remember my mother's hunched back as she harvested the winter vegetables, loading them onto her carrying poles, her figure swaying in the biting north wind of the afternoon.

December is a month filled with love and family affection, overflowing like the vast, never-ending ocean. The sky is bluer, white clouds drift lazily by, swallows soar with their delicate wings, carrying the arrival of spring. The peach trees are budding with pretty blossoms. The kumquat trees in the garden are laden with fruit, gradually turning yellow. My whole family bustles with joyful laughter as we clean the house. Father carefully wipes the ancestral altar. Mother takes advantage of the gentle sunlight to air out the blankets and sheets in the yard.

For me, the twelfth lunar month also brings the bustling sounds of villagers calling out to each other to tidy up the village roads and alleys. Talented painters are meticulously using paint to write slogans like "Celebrating the Party, celebrating the Spring." Every house displays the national flag. Amidst the vast green expanse of the sky and earth, the winding village roads and small alleys are ablaze with the vibrant red of the red flag with a yellow star, fluttering in the spring breeze, igniting a sense of national pride.

In the twelfth lunar month, I hear the bustling sounds of preparations for Tet (Lunar New Year). In years of crop failure and famine, these sounds are soft and somber. In years of abundant harvests, they are lively and joyful. The squealing of pigs, the calls from villages to gather for pig slaughtering, the scrubbing of pots and pans by the pond, the barking of dogs as villagers return home along the country road shaded by rustling bamboo trees. The familiar, endearing greetings and sincere inquiries. The calls and invitations in the bustling marketplace… all are the most beautiful sounds that come with Tet and the arrival of spring.

You may also like

Over 8,300 "golden horses" will be born in the early days of the Lunar New Year of the Horse 2026.On the morning of February 19th (the 3rd day of the first lunar month of the Year of the Horse 2026), the Ministry of Health announced that since the beginning of the Lunar New Year holiday in 2026, more than 8,300 newborns have been born at medical facilities nationwide.

In the golden afternoon sun...VHXQ - This afternoon I stopped by again. The twilight at the edge of the forest was glowing red on the tops of the myrtle bushes, the same red as that afternoon many years ago. The graves had already turned green with moss, and the old myrtle tree beside them had aged several times over…

December in historical recordsVHXQ - Through ancient texts, from official histories and unofficial accounts to records of foreigners who once set foot on Vietnamese soil, it can be seen that Tet is "nurtured" throughout the entire twelfth lunar month, with meticulous rituals and a strong sense of community.

December also brings moments of quiet uncertainty, adrift in the boundless flow of the struggle for survival. I sit waiting for the train at the station, yearning for each minute, each hour to quickly return home after a long, exhausting year, burdened with the heavy weight of providing for my family. These are the years I swallowed my tears when I missed the train home to visit my mother on the thirtieth day of the lunar month. I met the sad, distant gaze of someone whose life mirrored mine on the streets where the traffic had thinned. The shadow cast by the fading afternoon sun on the wide street, the image of my elderly mother, her eyes weary from waiting for her distant child to return, then sighing as she drifted into a flood of sorrow.
Missing you.

Suddenly, a love that will forever remain for the beloved month of December stirred in my heart.

Nguyen Tham

United States - Vietnam: Don't miss

Senior Party and State leaders send letters and telegrams congratulating the United States on its National Day.In congratulatory letters and messages on the US Independence Day, senior leaders of the Vietnamese Party and State reaffirmed that Vietnam considers the United States one of its strategically important partners.

Senior leaders of the Vietnamese Party and State send letters and telegrams congratulating the United States on its National Day.In congratulatory letters and messages on the US Independence Day, senior leaders of the Vietnamese Party and State reaffirmed that Vietnam considers the United States one of its strategically important partners.

Strengthening the friendship between Vietnam and the United States.On July 3rd, as part of the Pacific Partnership - Friends of the Pacific 2026 program, the U.S. Army Pacific delegation, led by Lieutenant General Joel Vowell, Deputy Commander of the U.S. Army Pacific, paid a courtesy visit to the Quang Tri Provincial Military Command.

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/dong-nai-cuoi-tuan/202601/thuong-nho-thang-chap-40624db/